Dream Stalker
by Pinefur
Summary: Echopaw's life is haunted by dreams in which she can affect things in the waking world. She starts helping Clanmates and alerting them to danger she sees in her 'sleepvisions'.  But then Echopaw finds out that in her dreams... she can kill...
1. Diseased Dreams

Dusktail woke as a tiny paw prodded her in the side. The gray-brown queen's eyes fluttered open, taking in the shadowy den around her. The almost-full moon shone through the cracks between the bracken that protected the nursery.

Another sharp prick made her jolt around. Dusktail turned to see a small kit thrashing in the throes of a dream. The kit's claws were unsheathed and as she jerked they hit Dusktail's flank over and over again.

"Echokit!" the she-cat whispered frantically, crouching beside the frail squirming shape. "Echokit!"

The kit's mouth stretched wide in a silent scream. Suddenly her eyes snapped open, blazing green-blue. Dusktail reeled back in shock, nearly crashing into the walls of the den. Echokit stared up at her. "You might want to check on Fogpaw now," she meowed in an eerily calm voice.

Dusktail stared down at her kit, the only one she had. "W-what?"

"You probably want to check on him, before it's too late," the she-cat breathed. Her eyes were wide and unblinking. "You probably want to get Quickfoot."

The queen gulped. Echokit watched her. "You should go now," she whispered. "Otherwise Fogpaw might not make it."

Dusktail felt horror rising inside of her. What was happening to her kit? She was about to speak when a keening sound rose from the apprentice den, and she spun around. A cry of pain split the night.

Instantly the she-cat was on her paws and running out of the nursery with Echokit staring almost sightlessly after her. Dusktail raced across the clearing of the ThunderClan camp to the apprentice den, her feet throwing up clouds of dust as she ran. She burst into the den and froze as a pale gray body writhed in the moss.

"Fogpaw!"

Her screech rang in the small space. Mistpaw shot up from her nest, blinking her pale green eyes open. "Dusktail! What are you-?" She saw Fogpaw thrashing on the ground. "Oh, StarClan! Fogpaw!" She raised her head and caterwauled. "Quickfoot!"

The other apprentices woke to see their Clanmate twisting around on the dirt. Fogpaw hacked and coughed, bringing up thick mucus. Mistpaw wailed. "Quickfoot!" she cried.

A tabby bounded into the den. "What's happening?" he demanded.

"Twigstar! Fogpaw is-"

Quickfoot rushed into the den. "Are the apprentices all right? Why is every cat here?" Then he spotted Fogpaw writhing in pain, mucus dripping from his outstretched jaws. "Great StarClan!" The medicine cat darted out, towards his store of herbs. He returned with some bitter smelling leaves. "Hurry, make him eat these!"

Mistpaw stuffed the herbs into her brother's mouth. His throat convulsed and he choked, clearly in agony. Dusktail blinked, terrified, as his thrashing stilled and he fell limp.

"I-i-is he dead?" A whisper came from Lightpaw, staring with wide, horrified eyes from the shadows of the den.

Quickfoot bent over Fogpaw. With a pang of relief Dusktail saw a faint rising and falling of the apprentice's chest. "He's breathing."

"Yes," Quickfoot gasped. "We got the herbs in him just in time."

"What was that?" asked Mistpaw. She pressed her nose into her brother's fur, her eyes glittering with tears.

"I'm not sure. I've only seen it once before," Quickfoot admitted. He was breathing hard. "But it's deadly. And it works very fast." He dipped his head. "How did you find him in time?"

"Dusktail came in and woke me," mewed Mistpaw weakly.

All eyes turned to the queen. She shrank back. "I heard him cry out," she meowed, deciding not to tell any cat about what her daughter had said. "I was awake, and he sounded like he was in pain. I came in here and found him on the ground."

"Thank StarClan you did," sniffled Mistpaw. She curled up by her brother's side. Fogpaw twitched, mewling faintly.

"Best bring him to my den," ordered Quickfoot. He gently brushed Mistpaw's forehead with his tail. "He'll be okay, don't worry."

Dusktail nodded and stumbled out of the den. Behind her she heard the cats moving the unconscious apprentice to the fern tunnel, but it seemed far away. With a pounding heart she entered the nursery. It was the same as it had been before, silent and empty except for one black and silver furred kit. Dusktail stared down at her.

Echokit closed her brilliant blue-green eyes.

"What did you do?" Dusktail whispered. "How did you know?"

The kit merely curled up and fell asleep.


	2. Almost Normal Apprentice

Mist seeped in between the stems of the ferns that lined the clearing, muffling the sounds from the forest. The she-cat lying in the tall grass opened her blue-green eyes and blinked. Slowly she stood up, breathing in calmly. There was no sound around her as she took a step forward.

"_Echopaw_…"

The voice floated faintly from the distance. Echopaw flicked her ears and turned towards the sound, her fur bristling slightly. She started walking towards it, her eyes narrowed.

Suddenly the mist cleared away and she was padding among familiar trees. Moonlight shone through the gaps between the branches above her, dappling the ground with silvery light. Echopaw crouched down, tasting the air. The scent of mice was strong, and her stomach rumbled hungrily.

The apprentice crept forward, then leaped as a small brown shape came into view. The mouse jumped up to scurry away, but she was already upon it. Echopaw bit the mouse's neck and it fell limp in her jaws. Ravenously she gulped it down. The black and silver furred she-cat heard another mouse scuffling in the undergrowth and she sprang for it. The prey ran but her claws cut into its back.

Echopaw picked up the fresh-kill and padded away. She followed the path she knew so well, heading towards the ThunderClan camp. The ravine was silent as she slipped into the gorse tunnel. _I can't let any cat see me,_ she thought nervously. Although she knew that no cat really _could_ see her, she still felt anxious.

The apprentice walked hastily to the center of the clearing, and dropped her piece of fresh-kill on the ground. Just then a bird called out, its song rippling through the forest. Echopaw turned to see the first golden shafts of sunlight show on the horizon. Something stirred inside of her, and she felt her body twitch and lighten. Suddenly the world spiraled into darkness, deep black that covered her mind.

Her eyes snapped open, startling her drowsy mind with color. A dim shape loomed in front of her. "Echopaw, wake up! Dryleaf and Bushytail are going to get angry!" Two yellow eyes blinked at her, pushing away the last fragments of the dream.

"All right, Sparkpaw!" Echopaw groaned. "I'm getting up!" She shook herself, flinging scraps of moss out of her pelt. Sparkpaw stepped back to avoid it.

"You were talking in your sleep," she mewed. "About hunting."

Echopaw felt the fur on the back of her neck start to bristle. "I want to do well in my assessment today."

"So do I," Sparkpaw sighed. "But I don't know… I just can't figure out how to catch birds yet."

Echopaw flicked the other apprentice with her tail sympathetically and padded out of the den. The golden dawn light warmed her pelt as she walked forward.

"Look, some cat's been hunting already," Sparkpaw meowed. She pointed at the beginning of a fresh-kill pile in the center of the camp. There was a single mouse.

"Yeah," Echopaw muttered, looking away. "They'd have had to get up really early."

Sparkpaw mewed her agreement. "Well, we better hurry." She glanced up at the rising sun. "We need to be there in a moment. Bushytail's always telling me that I need to be on time."

"That's because you're always late," Echopaw joked, shoving the dream-hunt out of her mind. Sparkpaw batted at her with a paw and they started running. The apprentices panted as they raced through the forest to the training hollow. At the last second Sparkpaw darted ahead, staggering into the sandy clearing. Echopaw burst through the undergrowth just a tail length behind her.

"You're faster than last time," she gasped, sucking in air. Sparkpaw opened her mouth to respond but another voice cut her off.

"You're just on time." The apprentice turned to see a tabby tom with a fluffed up tail sitting calmly at the side of the training hollow. A pale and dark brown tom was waiting there as well.

"Bushytail! Dryleaf!" Sparkpaw bounded up to the mentors. "We ran all the way here from camp!"

"So I noticed," meowed Bushytail, a glint of amusement in his amber eyes. "You're panting like badgers were chasing you!"

"I think I would have run harder if that happened," Sparkpaw mewed with a grin. Echopaw rolled her eyes and padded over to her mentor, Dryleaf. He nodded to her. "Hello, Echopaw. Ready for some battle training today?"

The apprentice's eyes lit up. "Battle training? But I thought you were assessing my hunting skills!"

Dryleaf shrugged. "Sparkpaw's doing that today, so you can do it tomorrow. Anyway, you need to practice fighting."

"No fair!" gasped Sparkpaw. "I want to do battle training!"

Bushytail flicked her flank with his tail. "You can do that in a day or two, if you do well in your assessment."

Sparkpaw opened her mouth to protest, then closed it. She grumbled under her breath. "Well, then I'm going to do _really_ well."

"Good." Bushytail smiled at his apprentice. "Come on, you have until sun-high." They padded off, deeper into the trees, until Echopaw couldn't hear them anymore.

A sudden blur caught her attention. Echopaw ducked just as a paw whizzed past her nose, claws sheathed. She jumped to the side and barreled into her mentor, knocking him back.

"Good, you're paying attention!" he meowed. Almost instantly he leaped forward. Echopaw sprang up, and Dryleaf's feet only brushed her tail as he flew by. She spun around and raked her paws down his flank. The warrior landed on all four feet and lashed out at her.

Echopaw whipped to the side and slammed into Dryleaf. They tumbled over the sandy hollow until finally the warrior pinned his apprentice down.

"Good!" he gasped, panting for air. "You fight nearly as well as a warrior! And you've only been an apprentice for less than three moons."

Echopaw's fur bristled uncomfortably. "I practice a lot," she meowed cautiously.

"I'm sure you do." Dryleaf nodded, missing his apprentice's nervous look. "Now, here's a fighting move you might find useful." They continued battling as the sun rose higher into the sky.

**Not very good chapter, I know, but I needed to write that.**


	3. Worthless

**gah, I'm seriously sorry for not updating this story. Did everyone forget about it? Probably. I'm so so sorry. Anyway, I deleted chapter 3 and replaced it with this chapter, mainly because chapter 3 sucked. It was just totally forced, and I want this story to be something I want to try, and have to write, if that makes sense. I like this chapter much much more, and it's not as rushed as the last chapter. Because this is still c. 3, all you people who reviewed the last c. 3 will not be able to review this chapter, just so you know (well, thanks for reviewing the last chapter! if you didn't review the last chapter, then now you have a second chance! xD).  
**

**So, in the future I will try to update this story more often. It's no longer on hiatus. Hoorah!**

**And, finally, here is the next chapter of Dream Stalker.**

--

The mouse's tail vanished into a burrow just as Echopaw's claws scraped the ground where it had stood a heartbeat before. The apprentice skidded to a stop at the base of a tree, panting. Her paws ached from hunting for so long, and hunger rumbled in her belly, but it all seemed mild compared to the fierce anger she felt in her heart. Why couldn't she catch a mouse when she was awake, and hunting for real? Dryleaf would have her fur for this. The thought of her mentor's disappointed look when she came back with yet another pitiful catch burned its image into her mind.

Cursing herself, the she-cat turned away from the burrow. Her black and silver fur bristled uncomfortably as she padded through with forest. Echopaw glanced up at the sky, and saw the sun sinking towards the horizon.

_Fox dung_, she thought. _I have to go back now, don't I?_

The apprentice wound her way through the trees until she found the place where she had stashed her measly catch: a tiny shrew and a squirrel. Dejectedly she picked them up in her mouth and crept back towards the ravine. As she neared the camp her pawsteps grew slower, until she had stopped altogether, hiding in the bushes a few fox-lengths from the gorse tunnel.

_Maybe I can sneak in. Maybe I can drop my fresh-kill on the pile and run to the apprentices' den._ Wild hopes filled her head.

"Echopaw?"

Dryleaf's meow rang behind her, and Echopaw whirled around. Her mentor was watching her with an amused expression on his face. The she-cat stumbled back, embarrassed. "What are you doing?"

"N-nothing… just… returning to camp…?" It came out as a question, and the apprentice reprimanded herself angrily.

"From hunting?" Dryleaf's look turned criticizing as he blinked down at the two pieces of prey on the ground. "You call _that_ hunting? How many cats do you think that will feed?"

"I-I'm sorry, Dryleaf," Echopaw murmured, scuffling around in the leaves at her paws.

"'Sorry' catches no prey," the tom meowed. He hesitated, then continued with a condescending tone. "Look, Echopaw. You're great at fighting, and it's incredible how you get it instinctively. But when you're hunting, you seem to be distracted. You don't know how to crouch, or move. It's like you're in a dream."

_You don't know how close to the truth you are,_ thought the apprentice. She clawed the ground, staring at nothing.

"A true warrior knows how to fight, but also hunt. You must be able to support your Clanmates." Dryleaf prodded her with a paw, and she looked up at him. Her pelt prickled with shame under his gaze and instantly she turned away again. "I don't know if you think the prey won't scent you, or hear you, or something, but you need to learn."

_It _can't_ hear me – when I'm dreaming!_ Echopaw wanted to protest, but knew she could say nothing. StarClan knew what her Clanmates would do to her if they found out her secret.

"I'll take this into camp," Dryleaf meowed, picking up Echopaw's catch. "Take something for yourself. I'll see you tomorrow at the training hollow – at sunrise. I'll show you some different crouches, and we can hunt."

"Okay," muttered Echopaw. Her tail drooping, she trailed after her mentor into the camp. It felt like every cats' stare burned into her fur as she followed Dryleaf to the fresh-kill pile, even though she knew that no one was paying any attention to her. When her mentor dropped the shrew and squirrel on the pile and padded off, Echopaw took a tiny sparrow and retreated to the apprentices' den.

"Hi!" Sparkpaw called, looking up from washing her pelt. "How'd hunting go?" She saw Echopaw's expression and flicked the black and silver she-cat with her tail. "Oh, come on, it can't be that bad."

"It was," muttered Echopaw, curling up and resting her head on her paws. "Dryleaf thinks I'm a total failure at hunting. I only caught a scrawny shrew and a squirrel. I did better when I was just barely older than a kit!"

"Hey, we all have bad days, right?" Sparkpaw shifted over so she was next to her friend.

Echopaw sighed. "In my case, it's more like a bad moon." Reluctantly she ate a bite of her sparrow. "At least I can fight well – although it won't matter if I can't hunt." Angrily she stared down at her paws.

"Why do you think you have a problem hunting?" asked Sparkpaw. "Maybe you can ask Dryleaf to help you."

The she-cat hesitated, wondering if she should tell Sparkpaw about her dreams. Almost instantly she shook herself. _No way am I telling _any_ cat, not even Sparkpaw._ But she did want to get help. "I… I think it's because I keep forgetting that the prey can't hear me and scent me. I just want to walk up to it and catch it."

Sparkpaw nodded, her ginger-gold head dappled in shadows from the trees. "Yeah, like when you dream about hunting and its like you're a ghost and so you can catch a moon's worth of prey in a single day? I love those dreams! I wish they were real!"

Echopaw froze in mid-bite, staring at her friend. _Dreams… How does… how does she know…?_

"Echopaw?" Sparkpaw was blinking at her. "Echopaw, are you okay?" With a jolt of relief the silver and black apprentice realized that Sparkpaw's yellow eyes showed only concern, not accusation. _She doesn't know…_

"I'm fine," Echopaw lied. "Just tired. I'm worried about hunting with Dryleaf tomorrow."

Sparkpaw licked her ear sympathetically. "You'll do fine."

As Echopaw shrugged and finished her fresh-kill she wished that she could be as certain.


	4. Hunting

**Sorry this chapter is kinda rushed, but I really want to get to the next part. I almost connected this to the next chapter, but that would have been _way_ too long, so I did this.**

**You can review now, so no excuses! xD**

--

"Great StarClan, Echopaw! Wake up!"

The meow cut through her dream, slashing it apart as though with claws. The silver and black she-cat writhed as the mouse she carried dissolved into mist and she was wrenched back into the waking world. Echopaw scrabbled in her mossy nest, sleepily blinking up at the cat standing over her.

"Are you deaf or something?" A paw prodded her in the side as the voice spoke. Echopaw squeaked in protest and scrambled ungracefully to her feet.

"Eaglepaw?" she mewed, her voice slurred with sleep as she recognized the cat. "What are you-?"

The dark tabby apprentice rolled his eyes. "Warrior training – or had you forgotten? We can't all sleep the day away, you know." He looked across the den at the curled up form of Sparkpaw. "Should probably wake her, too, huh? Or did her mentor give her the day off as well?"

Echopaw hissed at the obvious sarcasm in his voice. "Go away, Eagle_kit_." Angrily she stalked past the tom, flicking him with her tail as she reached Sparkpaw's nest. Behind her Eaglepaw snorted and padded out of the den.

Echopaw narrowed her eyes and nudged Sparkpaw. "Hey, it's time to get up. You don't want to be late, right?"

The ginger she-cat moaned, half-opening her eyes. "Wha-?" She looked around and jumped up. "Is it sunrise already? Bushytail will chase me to Highstones and back if I'm late!"

"Almost." Echopaw glanced outside at the pale light in the clearing that was slowly growing stronger. "It can't be too long until sunrise now, there's already a little light showing." She felt an uncomfortable twisting in her stomach as she realized that she would have to hunt the whole day with Dryleaf, and she knew that part of her anger with Eaglepaw was really just her way of showing her anxiety.

"Let's go, then." Sparkpaw cast a quick glance around the apprentice den before turning to pad towards the entrance. "Eaglepaw gone already?" They were the only three apprentices in ThunderClan at the moment, and the den seemed empty without any other cats there.

"Yeah. I chased him off," muttered Echopaw.

"Why?" asked Sparkpaw. "He could have come with us." Echopaw rolled her eyes as they left the apprentice den. She had no idea why Sparkpaw acted like such a mouse-brain whenever she was near Eaglepaw. He was a total jerk, there was no reason for her to be impressed with him.

"Because he was being annoying. Can we go now?" Echopaw stepped into the clearing, breathing in the crisp morning air. Sparkpaw padded behind her, mewing endlessly about how Bushytail had taught her a cool new fighting move, and she couldn't wait until her first battle, and wouldn't Eaglepaw be impressed if he saw how well she could fight?

"What do you like Eaglepaw so much for?" Echopaw finally meowed as they walked through the forest to the training hollow. "All he does is make fun of every cat."

Sparkpaw shrugged and stared off into the undergrowth, falling silent. Echopaw sighed, her tail lashing the air. Each pawstep towards the training hollow filled her with dread at how horrible she was going to be at hunting. Dryleaf would never let her be a warrior.

"You'll do fine," Sparkpaw meowed, as though she sensed what her friend was thinking about. "He's teaching you, right? So just focus and learn it!"

_I wish it was that easy,_ thought Echopaw. Sparkpaw didn't have to worry about confusing the dream world with the waking one. Sleep was a place of rest for her, not a second land. Angrily the silver and black she-cat shook her head. Why couldn't she just learn to creep quietly when she was hunting? Why was it so hard for her to remember that she was supposed to be _awake_? She always knew she was dreaming when she was in the dream-world, but when she was awake and hunting for real... everything was so confusing.

Echopaw was almost relived when she got to the training hollow and she could stop thinking about dreaming. But as soon as she saw Dryleaf's brown pelt her heart sank again.

Her mentor stood and padded over to her. "Ready to learning some hunting techniques?"

_No…_ "Okay," mumbled Echopaw. Sparkpaw cast her a sympathetic glance as she went off with Bushytail, heading deeper into ThunderClan territory.

Dryleaf waited until the other two cats had left, then he blinked at Echopaw. "Okay, do you remember the crouch for stalking a bird?"

The apprentice flinched. Stupid crouches, she could never remember which was which. Why did there was to be a different stalk for rabbits and shrews and mice and birds? It never mattered in her dreams…

Dryleaf was watching her patiently, so she crouched down. Stealing a glance at her mentor, Echopaw crept forward, moving slowly across the sandy ground. In a heartbeat Dryleaf was shaking his head, mewing.

"No, for birds you have to move quickly and lightly." He dropped down and began to move forward, fast and light on his paws. "Like this."

Echopaw crouched and tried to copy him, but ended up stumbling over her own paws. Embarrassed, she jumped up. Dryleaf's whiskers twitched in amusement. "Again." The apprentice gritted her teeth and tried to stalk forward lightly. Dryleaf nodded. "More like that. Again."

By the time the sun had reached its highest point in the sky Echopaw's head was spinning with all the different types of stalks and crouches she had tried to learn. She sat down with relief as Sparkpaw and Bushytail re-entered the training hollow and Dryleaf padded over to greet them.

Sparkpaw bounded over to her friend as her mentor spoke to Dryleaf. "Are you okay? Dryleaf must've trained you this whole time! Did you learn anything new?"

"Yeah, but I won't remember it," muttered Echopaw. "I bet I'll have forgotten by the time Dryleaf takes me hunting."

"There's tons of prey today, though," mewed the ginger-furred apprentice. "It's practically begging to be caught. You'll get _some_thing."

"I hope so."

"Echopaw," Dryleaf called, waiting at the other side of the clearing. "Are you ready to go hunting?"

Echopaw made a face at Sparkpaw and turned to her mentor. "Sure, I guess." She tried to sound cheerful, but only managed a resigned sigh as she padded across the sandy hollow to join the tom.

Dryleaf flicked her with his tail. "You'll learn," he meowed. "No cat's perfect at everything. Besides, if you do well, we can have battle training with Sparkpaw and Eaglepaw when you're done."

Echopaw's blue-green eyes lit up. "Really?"

Her mentor let out a purr. "I knew you would like that. I already asked Bushytail, and he says it's okay, and I'm sure Eaglepaw's mentor won't protest. They're coming here after the noon patrol anyway, so we'll hunt and come straight back."

"Okay!" Echopaw suppressed a grin as she wondered how Sparkpaw would feel about fighting Eaglepaw. Dryleaf stood and padded off, his tail tip vanishing into the ferns. Echopaw trailed after him, her mouth open to catch any prey-scent.

Suddenly Dryleaf halted, his ears pricked. The tom caught Echopaw's eye and motioned to the base of a large oak tree. "Over there," he mouthed.

The silver-and-black apprentice looked over and saw a mouse scuffling in the leaves at the tree roots. Dryleaf nodded and she crept forward, trying to copy the mouse stalk he had taught her. Before she had gone three steps, however, a twig snapped under her paws and she flinched.

The mouse jumped up and darted away, streaking off before Echopaw could run after it. Her fur prickling with embarrassment, the she-cat turned back to Dryleaf. He said nothing, though his eyes had a glint of amusement in them. "It happens to every cat," he mewed finally, and turned away.

Echopaw followed, her tail dragging on the ground. _Why do I have to be so useless at hunting?_ she wondered. The apprentice sniffed the air reluctantly, then realized with a jolt that this was near the place where Eaglepaw had woken her up. The mouse she dropped must be somewhere around here!

Echopaw glanced at Dryleaf, who was padding away quickly. If she could just find the prey soon she could pretend that she had caught it. A small part of her flinched at the idea of lying to her mentor, but she couldn't let him think that she was completely horrible at hunting. The silver and black apprentice turned and bounded into the undergrowth.

She expected to hear Dryleaf call after her, but there was no sound. Echopaw tasted the air and almost instantly caught the scent of mouse. Excited, she ran forward as she recognized the forest around her as the place she had been in her dream.

A small, furry shape lay on the ground in front of her. Echopaw darted over to it, relief coursing through her as she saw it was the mouse. The apprentice leaned down to pick it up in her teeth, then recoiled as the skin fell away and she saw it rotting inside. Crowfood.

_Of course,_ thought Echopaw, her relief turning quickly to anger and shame. _Of course it's crowfood now, it's been there since before dawn!_ Why hadn't she realized it? _Mousebrain!_

"What are you doing?"

Echopaw whirled around to see Dryleaf watching her, just like he had done the day before when she had snuck back to camp with her pitiful catch. "I-I just thought I'd scented a mouse, but I was wrong," she squeaked. The she-cat shifted in front of the mouse carcass to hide it from Dryleaf's view. Hopefully he would accept her lie as more proof of her pitiful hunting skills and move on.

But Dryleaf sniffed and wrinkled his nose. "What's that?" He padded past Echopaw and saw the mouse. "Crowfood?" His confused expression morphed into a frown. "Are you telling me you thought crowfood was live prey?"

"No," mumbled Echopaw, staring at the ground. "I thought I caught the scent of a live mouse, but I couldn't find one anywhere." He eyes pleading, she looked up at Dryleaf. "I didn't think this was alive, I promise!" Almost scornfully she added, "I'm not _that_ stupid."

Her mentor's eyes narrowed in anger. "Who said you were? No cat thinks that, Echopaw. Some cats are just slower than others when it comes to hunting. You're great at fighting, but you need to learn other things, too." Then he paused, tasting the air. "Maybe you were right… I can smell mouse too…"

He dropped into a hunter's crouch and crept across the clearing, light on his paws. _Mouse feels you, rabbit hears you,_ Echopaw recited in her mind, having learned it for the gazillionth time earlier that day.

Dryleaf paused at the edge of the clearing, staring under a tangle of brambles. Echopaw padded quietly behind him and could just see a flicker of movement underneath the thorns. "No good," the tom whispered. "Can't get it while it's under there." He eyed Echopaw and motioned with his tail for her to go to the other side of the bush. "Wait there," her mentor breathed. "I'll scare it out, but you should catch it."

Echopaw crept around the brambles nervously, sure that every pawstep would send the mouse scurrying away and Dryleaf would get mad at her again. After a minute that seemed to be an eternity, Dryleaf flicked his tail in a signal.

The apprentice crouched low in the undergrowth as Dryleaf yowled, rustling the edge of the thorns. Instantly the mouse bolted out the other side of the bush. Echopaw narrowed her eyes. _Can't miss it now!_ she thought anxiously.

The creature darted in front of her paws and she leaped after it. The apprentice nearly tripped as she ran. She only had a heartbeat before the mouse would disappear. Imagining that she was attacking an enemy warrior, Echopaw sprang, landing squarely on the prey. She sank her claws into the back of its neck and it fell still.

"Nice catch!"

Echopaw turned, her eyes glowing as she saw her mentor's apprehension turn to pride. "At a dead run, too. What'd you do different?"

"I pretended it was an enemy," meowed the apprentice eagerly. "You know… I get fighting a lot more than hunting."

"Well, it worked," mewed Dryleaf. His voice held an undertone of relief that Echopaw shared. She wasn't completely useless as this after all!

"Come on," meowed the mottled brown tom. "Try that again, and if you do well, you _will_ have battle training later."

Echopaw left with clearing with much more confidence than she had entered with.


	5. Battle Training

**hmm... only two people reviewed this time... thanks to those who did, you all get Echopaw plushies! -throws plushies- anyway, I was rereading Po3 and Jaypaw and Echopaw have almost similar abilities, at least, they each have special dreams. this is really random but I wanted to say that I did get the idea for this story before I read Po3, so I'm not copying.**

**but whatever... so here's the next chapter! (-pokes- review!)**

By the time Dryleaf was satisfied the sun had sunk low into the sky, and Echopaw had her mouth full of prey. She followed her mentor back towards the training hollow, struggling to keep a grip on the multiple mice she was carrying. Relief flooded her when Dryleaf stopped and set down his fresh-kill. "Let's bury it here," he mewed. "Time for battle training."

Echopaw's eyes glowed with excitement as she bounded into the sandy clearing. Sparkpaw and Bushytail were already waiting at the other side. Bushytail was teaching Sparkpaw a new attack, probably hoping that she could find a way to use it during the play-fight.

"Hi, Sparkpaw!" Echopaw dropped her prey and deftly scraped dirt over the bodies. "I could barely scent you over all those mice!"

The ginger she-cat let out a purr and looked pleadingly at Bushytail. He nodded and she ran over to Echopaw. "Won't this be fun?" she asked. "Battle training!"

"Yes, you'll love attacking Eaglepaw," Echopaw meowed mischieviously, her blue-green eyes glittering.

Sparkpaw cuffed her friend's ear. "Shut up!" she purred, glancing around to make sure her mentor hadn't heard. Bushytail had already padded over to speak with Dryleaf, and they stared off into the forest waiting for Eaglepaw and his mentor to show up. "So, how'd hunting go?"

Echopaw flicker her tail. "I think Dryleaf regained some hope," she mewed. "I managed to catch some prey!"

"Good for you!" Sparkpaw purred. "Just become as good a hunter as you are a fighter and you'll be a warrior in no time!"

"It probably won't be that easy," Echopaw mewed, scuffling her paws on the sandy earth. "I mean, I still have _moons_ to train. I don't even know all the battle moves yet, and…well… I've got a long way to go on hunting."

"Yeah, but-" Sparkpaw was cut off by a yowl of welcome as Bushytail spotted Eaglepaw and his mentor. The ginger she-cat sat up straighter and turned around.

Eaglepaw padded into the clearing, his dark tabby pelt contrasting the pale colors of the sand. His mentor, a lithe silver she-cat named Mistsong, pushed through the ferns and went to sit by the other two warriors.

"Hi, Eaglepaw," Sparkpaw squeaked. She licked her paw and drew it over her ear, embarrassment prickling from her fur. There was an awkward silence for a few heartbeats, and Echopaw lashed the air with her tail. Relief pounded through her when Dryleaf called the apprentices over.

"Since there are only three of you, two of you will fight at a time and one will watch," the dappled brown tom mewed. "The one watching will give a critique and point out interesting moves – both good and bad ones."

Mistsong meowed agreement. "And remember, claws are sheathed. No biting hard enough to draw blood."

"Darn," muttered Eaglepaw, and Mistsong glanced sharply at him. "I was kidding," the apprentice mumbled, crouching under his mentor's pale green gaze. The silver she-cat curled her tail, whiskers twitching.

"Sparkpaw and Eaglepaw first," decided Bushytail. "Echopaw, you watch." As he spoke he blinked at his apprentice, and Echopaw swore she saw an amused glint in his eyes.

"What?" Sparkpaw gasped. Her stare flicked to Eaglepaw for a moment, and he snorted. "What, afraid to hurt me?" the tabby tom smirked. His dark brown fur bristled as Sparkpaw rose to her paws.

The ginger apprentice narrowed her eyes and shot a glance at Bushytail. Her mentor was silent, watching her with a knowing expression. Echopaw rolled her eyes in exasperation. _Come on, Sparkpaw! _

"You can start anytime," mewed Dryleaf.

Half-heartedly Sparkpaw charged, swiping at Eaglepaw's face. The young tom ducked and stuck his muzzle under Sparkpaw's front paws, making her trip, and as she fell forward he pummeled her belly with his hind legs. The ginger she-cat gasped and rolled away onto the sandy ground. Instantly Eaglepaw jumped and pressed her down into the earth. The tabby blinked up at his mentor smugly. "Should it be this easy?"

Sparkpaw used the distraction the push herself up, and Eaglepaw was thrown off. The she-cat sprang to her paws, tail fluffed nearly as much as Bushytail's. Echopaw breathed out in relief. Finally, her friend seemed to be ready to fight.

Eaglepaw crouched low, his tail waving furiously. Sparkpaw matched his stance, her yellow eyes glowing. The tabby tom yowled and launched himself into the air, aiming for Sparkpaw's back, but the she-cat darted forward and Eaglepaw landed heavily on the sand.

Echopaw watched as the two cats circled each other, swiping out every few moments with claws sheathed. The excitement of the battle burned in her veins as hot as fire; her paws itched to run and jump into the fight. _Your turn is coming,_ she reminded herself. _For now, just watch them._

Just then Eaglepaw feinted to the right, and as Sparkpaw turned he flung himself to the other side and bowled the she-cat over. They tumbled in the dust for a moment, then Eaglepaw landed on top, digging his claws into the dirt on either side of Sparkpaw so she couldn't escape. The ginger-gold apprentice writhed, but he had her firmly pinned down.

"Good job, both of you," meowed Bushytail as Eaglepaw released the she-cat and she scrambled up. He stared at Sparkpaw as he said it, and she looked at her paws. _But at least she finally realized that she had to fight,_ thought Echopaw. _She can't go padding after Eaglepaw all the time._

"So, what do you think, Echopaw?" asked Dryleaf.

"Oh." Echopaw narrowed her eyes. She had been so caught up in watching the mock-battle that she had forgotten to look for things to critique. Quickly she ran the fight over in her mind. "Well…" Casting an impish gaze at Sparkpaw, she mewed, "Of course, it's always good to actually _try_ to fight…"

"Hey!" Sparkpaw protested, but amusement shone in her face. Then she seemed to remember that Eaglepaw was right next to her and she ducked her head in embarrassment.

"The feint was good," Echopaw continued, nodding to Eaglepaw. "A good way to distract your opponent, though don't let yourself get distracted like you did at the beginning. And it was smart how Sparkpaw saw where Eaglepaw was aiming in his leap, so she could move forward in time." Turning to Eaglepaw she added, "Your eyes betrayed where you where going."

The tabby snorted. "What, are you my mentor now?" he jeered.

"She's as good at fighting as one!" Sparkpaw defended, and Echopaw felt a rush of gratitude that her friend would stick up for her even around Eaglepaw.

The tom turned to face his denmate, a sneer on his face. "I can beat her, easy!"

"Want to try?" hissed Echopaw, her brilliant blue-green eyes narrowed into slits.

"Stop," ordered Dryleaf, flicking his tail in front of his apprentice. He looked at Eaglepaw. "What Echopaw said is good advice. You'll get your chance to battle her soon enough."

"I hope so," grumbled the tabby, and padded over to Mistsong.

Sparkpaw stalked over to her mentor, eyes wide. "Did I do alright?" she asked. Bushytail purred and murmured to her. Slight shame prickled from Sparkpaw, but it was quickly replaced by happiness.

"Ready?"

Echopaw turned to find her mentor standing behind her, and she grinned. "Yep!" Dryleaf nodded. "I know you'll do well."

"Should Echopaw fight Eaglepaw then?" Mistsong called over. Her apprentice growled and glared at Echopaw. She returned his stare, fur bristling.

"Sounds good," meowed Dryleaf. He flicked Echopaw's back, and leaned forward to murmur in her ear. "You can beat him. You have an instinct for this stuff."

"Thanks," mewed Echopaw, and padded forward.

Eaglepaw walked forward, his tail high. "There's no way in StarClan you'll win!" he taunted.

"Delude yourself all you want," retorted Echopaw, and leaped. Eaglepaw hadn't expected her sudden attack, and he barely whipped to the side in time. The she-cat's outstretched paws brushed his tail as she flew by and skidded to a stop on the sandy earth.

"Too hard for you?" the tabby sneered, but his eyes held a hint of wariness. Echopaw hissed at him, and Eaglepaw pressed himself against the ground and sprang for her paws, trying to knock them from underneath her. Echopaw balanced back on her hind legs as the tom darted up, and she fell forward as he slid past, crushing him into the dust. Eaglepaw grunted and pushed her away, panting.

Before he could move again Echopaw jumped onto his back and wrestled him to the ground, her teeth digging into his fur, hard enough for him to feel it but not enough to break the flesh. Eaglepaw reared back and Echopaw lost her grip, slipping onto the ground. The tabby turned and slashed at her.

An adrenaline rush had Echopaw in its grip now, and she deflected the swipe with her foreleg. Growling, the silver and black apprentice dove underneath Eaglepaw and pushed, flinging him up. As the tom fell she twisted around and shoved him away with her paws.

Eaglepaw snarled and tried to stand shakily, but Echopaw was already standing over him, pushing him back down. Unwilling to give up the tabby kicked his hind legs, catching Echopaw squarely in the chest. She gasped, but didn't let go. "Ready to give up?" she hissed.

"Never," snarled Eaglepaw, but he couldn't escape her grip. Bushytail flicked his tail and Echopaw released the tom. Eaglepaw jumped up and, green eyes narrowed, he stalked with his tail held high over to Mistsong.

"Good job," Dryleaf purred as Echopaw bounded over to him. The she-cat stood up straighter, warmed by his praise.

"So, Sparkpaw," mewed Bushytail, nudging his apprentice. "What do you have to say?"

"Oh!" Sparkpaw glanced at Eaglepaw. "Um… Echopaw's crash down attack was good… she reared back to let Eaglepaw move in front of her, then she fell forward… I guess…" She looked up hesitantly at Bushytail, mew trailing off.

"It was a lucky shot," grumbled Eaglepaw. "She never would have beaten me any other time."

Her happiness melted away like snow at sun-high. Echopaw whipped around, her blue-green eyes blazing angrily. She stalked across the sandy hollow, up to the tabby apprentice until she was a mouse-length away. "You act like you're so much better than every cat," she spat. "But you're not fooling anyone. If you lose, don't lie and say that you're better when we all know you're not."

"Oh, so that's it, huh?" Eaglepaw's mouth curved in a sneer. "You want to gloat over winning, do you?. Think it'll impress some cat?"

A growl rumbled in Echopaw's throat, and she dug her claws into the ground. Dryleaf mewed warningly behind her, but she ignored him.

"Stop it!" protested Sparkpaw, padding away from Bushytail. Her ginger fur bristled as she looked at Eaglepaw, though Echopaw couldn't tell if it was in embarrassment or anger.

Mistsong laid her tail on her apprentice's shoulder, but Eaglepaw shrugged her away, his amber eyes narrowed at Echopaw. "You think you're so smart," he jeered.

Echopaw stood slowly. "No, Eaglepaw," she hissed. "You just make us look that way." Pelt prickling with anger, she spun around and padded off into the forest with her tail held high.


End file.
